ERÚ publishes report on district heating systems, with over 45% of generation still coming from coal

The Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ) published a report on the operation of district heating systems in 2023. It comes as no surprise that heat production declined year on year. The reasons were the higher temperatures and commodity prices prevailing last year. Year-on-year heat generation fell by 6.7%. Approximately 45% of total final heat consumption is accounted for by households, highlighting the importance of energy savings in this sector. The issue will become increasingly prominent in the coming years as the introduction of EU ETS II approaches.

Last year, 140 923 TJ of heat was generated in the Czech Republic. Of this, 31% was consumed within the company or facility itself. Heat supplies, meaning the volume of thermal energy delivered to district heating systems (DHS), fell by 7.6% year on year to 75 803 TJ.

More than 45% of gross generation was produced from coal, with lignite accounting for 38.5% and hard coal for 7.7%. Coal is followed among the most widely used input fuels by natural gas (19%) and biomass (16%). Nevertheless, despite the above figures, the district heating market is gradually moving away from coal: generation from lignite has fallen by 23% compared with 2017, while hard coal generation has declined by 45%. By contrast, generation from the aforementioned biomass has risen by 24%.